Will Saturday’s elections be the last one in May for Texas?

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LUFKIN — Saturday could be the last municipal election Texas will ever hold in May.

And in Lovelady, a community of nearly 600 people in East Texas, they’ll end the evening with a shrimp boil at their polling place.

Cynthia Lum, the Houston County elections administrator overseeing Lovelady’s voting this year, hopes the shrimp brings more folks to the polls.

“In their last election, which they ran themselves, they had two voters,” Lum said. “So we’ve tripled their votes so far.”

Participation in municipal elections, which largely happen the first Saturday in May, is notoriously low. That’s one reason why Texas lawmakers are considering ending them.

Senate Bill 1209, authored by Sen. Bryan Hughes, a Mineola Republican, would require most elections to be held in November and on Tuesdays. There are exceptions for the primaries, runoffs and special elections. That means city and school districts would be required to hold their elections in November, rather than May, as they are now.

Hughes said he hopes the change will save money and drive up voter turnout.

“Low turnout elections are closely and resource-intensive. And since each election has substantial fixed costs, the cost per ballot increases significantly when there’s low turnout,” Hughes told the State Affairs Committee.

The drop from a general fall election to ones held in May are staggering. In November 2022, about 44% of registered Dallas County voters participated in the election. The next May, just 9%.

“People don't pay attention to local elections, and in May, they generally are local elections,” said Joyce LeBombard, president of the League of Women Voters in Texas. “Usually, governor elections and above get more attention than anything else, even though those local elections impact voters, generally much more than National elections."

Many small Texas cities, like Lovelady, will be lucky to see a dozen voters this weekend.

Lum says the legislation, which has already won approval from the state Senate and is waiting for a House committee to review it, would ease the strain on smaller counties and cities of holding multiple elections a year. And it has the potential to save taxpayers.

Elections cost a lot of money. Houston County estimated the Lovelady election might cost up to $15,000. That cost includes hiring election workers, voting machines and other supplies. Elections in the state’s largest counties could run into the millions. For example, the 2021 May election in Dallas County cost more than $3.1 million.

Moving the elections to November would instead allow more counties, cities and schools to split the cost, which could make a difference in small communities.

“Let’s say it costs $8,000 to run one precinct, that $8,000 could be divided by the school, the city and possibly the hospital district,” Lum said. “So instead of $8,000, you’re dividing it between four entities and talking about a couple thousand.”

While the change could save money, there are potential drawbacks.

Large counties worry the change would create a lengthy ballot, which, in turn, would mean longer waiting times for voters, said Jennifer Doinoff, who spoke during the State Affairs Committee hearing on behalf of large and small counties for the Texas Association of County Election Officials.

“Another concern is that some (counties) feel that moving all the jurisdictions of the May ballot would increase the number of December runoffs, resulting in very low turnout for those elections, and that those runoffs typically happen right during the holidays,” Doinoff said.

Small counties were typically in favor of the bill.

Many small counties, who have smaller staff, struggle to carry out multiple elections at one time and meet deadlines, Doinoff said.

Lum said there were many years in which she’d just finish everything needed for the March primaries when the May elections rolled around. And it became more hectic if a May runoff election was also needed.

There would be different complications. Lum said. School districts whose borders span two counties would have to work out where voters cast their ballots, and it may complicate the timeline for bond issues.

School districts will often seek bonds during the May elections with the goal of starting, and hopefully finishing, work by the start of school the following August, she said. Requiring a November election throws that out the window.

“Senate Bill 1209, removes local control and creates unnecessary financial and logistical burdens,” said Christopher Smith, the chief financial officer for Katy Independent School District, who spoke against this bill at the March 20 committee meeting.

Smith, who also spoke on behalf of the Fast Growth Schools Coalition, added moving school elections to November could cost school board candidates and supporters of bond elections more money to advertise amid national politics.

Common Cause Texas, a nonprofit voting advocacy group, opposes the bill. Emily French, the group's policy director, said in an interview, she worries that prohibiting election on Saturday could disenfranchise people who must work on Tuesdays.

LeBombard, the League of Women Voters leader, sees it differently and thinks turnout will increase.

“There will be more items in the election for voters to think about and for people to talk about,” LeBombard said. “So it will likely get more coverage than if it’s just a (municipal water district) having an election.”

Disclosure: Common Cause has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

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